


/ 



JUDGE JESSUP'S 



ADDRESS, 



ADDRESS 



BEFORE THE 



LINN^AN ASSOCIATION 



PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE, 

DELIVERED AT THE ANNUAL COMMENCEMENT, 

September 19, 1860. 
HON. WILLIAM JESSUP, LL. D. 

K 



i/5 GETTYSBURG: 

H. C. NEINSTEDT, PRINTEK, NEAR CORNER OF FRANKLIN 
& WEST STREETS. 

1861. 



^^°> 



\^ 



bO 



Pennsylvania College, Sept. 19, 1860. 
Hon. William Jessup, 

Dear Sir : The Linnsean Association has instructed me to thank you 
for the Discourse you, this afternoon, kindly delivered, and to solicit a 
copy for publication. 

It gives me pleasure to communicate to you the wishes of the Associ- 
ation, and allow me to express the hope, that it may be in your power to 
grant the request. 

With assurances of high regard, 

I have the honor to remain, 

Your obedient servant, 

M. L. STOEVER, 
President of the Association, 



Montrose, Dec. 20, I860. 
Prof. M. L. Stoever, 

Dear Sir : Since the delivery of my Address, at Gettysburg, to this 
time, I have had no opportunity for transcribing it and getting it ready 
for the press. 

I now send it to you with regret, that it has not been in my power to 
send it earlier. 

Truly yours, 

WM. JESSUP. 



ADDEESS 



Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Linncean Association : 

Yielding to your kind yet unexpected invitation to 
address you on this interesting occasion, I may be per- 
mitted, to congratulate you, upon the return of your 
annual Festivity, and, although out of the ordinary 
course of my associations and engagements, to add 
my trifling contribution to the interests of the occa- 
sion. 

No one can contemplate the Annual Commence- 
ments of our Schools, without feeling that a control- 
ing influence is thus frequently sent out upon the 
nation, and like the overflowing of great rivers, fer- 
tihzing and reviving influences are spread over all 
the professions of the land. No one can help feel- 
ing that the character of our civilization, and the 
general prosperity of the nation are most intimately 
connected with the influence, which these periodical 
contributions of educated minds exert upon the mass- 
es, with which they come in contact in the varied 
avocations of hfe. 

We must admit, that in nothing, has the Pa- 
triot, the Philanthropist, the Statesman and the 



Christian, a deeper interest than in the character of 
the Educated man. thus sent forth from our Colleges 
from year to year. This interest is deepened, as we 
look at the past, and consider the fcture. Who have 
been our Presidents, our Judges, our most eminent 
Statesmen ? Who have been our most eloquent min- 
isters of the Gospel ? Who most successful in the 
Healing Art ? But one answer can be given. Those 
who laid the foundation for their eminence and suc- 
cess in their Collegiate course, and carried with them 
into their professions, the mental and moral disci- 
pline acquired in the schools ! It is true, that emi- 
nent examples exist of self-instructed and self-made 
men, but they are the exceptions to the general rule 
and, like most exceptions, prove the rule to be cor- 
rect. Looking for eminent and controling useful- 
ness for the future, we must direct our attention to 
the young men, who are every year entering upon 
the learned professions and engaging in the various 
vocations of life, from our Colleges and Seminaries. 
They are yet to fill our offices, to lead our institu- 
tions of learning, to adorn our pulpits, and, in brief 
time, all will look to them to guide the destinies of 
the nation. 

The Common School education of the State oc- 
cupies a most important and commanding position. 
Its influence as a whole, can not be over-estimated, 
and it is well entitled to the fostering and sustaining 
patronage of the government. The time has been, 



when, in our State, Classical Education was deemed 
equally worthy the pecuniary aid of the common- 
wealth; and a system of sustaining Colleges and 
Female Seminaries, was once inaugurated upon a 
broad and liberal basis. When the embarrassments, 
arising from great expenditures for improving our 
material condition, shall have passed away, we may 
again expect a return to the enlarged system of sup- 
port for the higher branches of education. Then 
the State, standing in loco Parentis^ will open the 
avenues of learning, from the common schools to 
the highest classical attainments, for all her sons and 
daughters. 

Until this is done, our system will not be complete, 
and our duties will not be performed. The right to 
be educated is yet to be deemed the birth-right of 
every American-born citizen. The State alone, in 
the exercise of an impartial power, based on a wise 
system, can provide the means for all alike. Such 
provision is due lo our free institutions and to our 
ingenuous and aspiring youth. 

Classical education, as given in our Colleges, needs 
no advocacy from me on this occasion. Its trmmphs 
are recorded in the men it has sent out to eminence 
in every profession, in the mental and moral disci- 
pline which it gives, and in the unanimous testimony 
of its subjects. An effort has been made, to a very 
limited extent, in some quarters, to decry its useful- 
ness, and to substitute the Normal and Graded 



8 

School for the Academy and the College ; but all 
such efforts must be powerless. The Common 
School, the Graded School and the Normal School, 
are all the proper and legitimate supports of the Col- 
leges, and must be so considered so long as proper 
views are entertained of the two systems. It is a 
fact well attested, that the numbers of students, in 
the Academies and Colleges, have increased in the 
direct ratio of successful common school education ; 
and in those States, in which their common schools 
have been best conducted, their Colleges have been 
best sustained. If the prosperity of any nation ever 
required an educated and enhghtened people, ours 
more, and our Legislators will fail in their high obli- 
gations, if they do not, at the earhest practical peri- 
od, provide, from the common fund, an endowment 
and support for our Academies, Female Seminaries 
and Colleges. This State owes an unpaid debt of 
gratitude to a great man, once a citizen of this town,"* 
for his noble and effective efforts on behalf of class- 
ical, as well as common school education. To him, 
more than any one man, are we indebted for our com- 
mon school system, established upon the principle, 
thai the property of the State must educate the youth 
of the State, and that such education is to be exten- 
ded to the highest literary pursuits in any of our Col-, 
leges. Who does not desire a reinstatement of that 
system ? But it is not the purpose of this brief ad- 

*Hon. Thaddeus Stevens, LL. D. 



dress to dwell upon this interesting topic, or to dis- 
cuss at length the obligations of the State in refer- 
ence thereto. So much as has been said is simply 
in the way of suggestion upon this most vitally im- 
portant subject. 

Several thousand young men have again, this year, 
bid adieu to Alma Mater^ and commenced in earnest, 
the business of life. The learned professions have 
received, and are receiving their large annual contri- 
butions of zealous, ardent, aspiring and cultivated 
minds. Impulse, too, is given to almost every avoca- 
tion. Many have gone to niipart knowledge to oth- 
ers, and have devoted themselves to the business of 
teaching. Sad is it to reflect that this arduous, self- 
denying and most meritorious branch of public ser- 
vice furnishes so Uttle reward. Teaching, it is true, 
has its attractions and sometimes its ample rewards ; 
but as a whole and as a system, it has not yet in this 
country attained its proper position or its true emi- 
nence. It needs more the fostering protection and 
support of the public, and to be made a profession 
in all its branches^ which shall always claim the devo- 
tion of a hfe. Like the other learned professions, 
it should be entered upon, not as the means of ac- 
quiring other professions, but as the engagement of 
life, and while it should receive the high honor due 
to the Instructor of youth, it should, also, be the 
source of fair remuneration and competent support 
to its Professors. 



10 

It is well known that efforts to this end are being 
extensively made, and it is hoped, they may be crown- 
ed with most ample success. The graduates of 
the Colleges, who devote themselves to the business 
of instruction are doing very much to elevate the 
character of that profession. They are ahvays to be 
found advocating a high standard of teaching, and 
are in that way accomplishing much good. The 
field before them is a broad one. The cultivation 
has hitherto been indifferent. It needs deep plowing, 
draining and fertilizing, and it wdll yield a rich re- 
ward. There is a vast amount of superficial education 
in the land. Deep digging and deep foundations are 
too much neglected. The showy, and not the sohd, 
is too often the system. The consequence is a large 
amount of vapid and inane qualifications for the 
learned professions, and so few comparatively of em- 
inent Divines and Jurists. This is, by no means, a 
suggestion more applicable to our ow^n times, than 
the age which preceeded them. Indeed, in many re- 
spects, there has been a vast progress in sound, sol- 
id education within the past half century. It is scarce- 
ly that length of time, since an appointed preacher, 
before a large and highly respectable association of 
Christian ministers and churches, received the con- 
gratulations of many of his brethren, for proving (as 
they thought) that "College learning" was the vain 
philosophy, against which the learned and inspired 
Apostle warned the churches. That denomination 



11 

has now its Colleges, Universities and Theological 
Seminaries, and its classically educated ministry, 
and the churches, then addressed, are contributors to 
the endowment of these institutions, and zealous for 
an educated ministry. This is only one among the 
many illustrations, which might be adduced to .the 
positive advance of sohd education in the nation. 
It is pleasant on an occasion hke this, to look upon 
the progress which has been made in several of the 
larger Christian denominations in the education of 
their ministry. This is especially gratifying when a 
few brief considerations are presented of the posi- 
tion and influence of the Christian ministry. Cum- 
bered by establishment, with no class, irrespective of 
choice or qualification, devoted thereto, the minis- 
try of this country is the free spontaneous devotion 
of its members. Its character, as a whole, is deter- 
mined, to a great extent, by this freedom of choice. 
In this respect, too, it partakes largely of our free 
and liberal institutions. The American pulpit, elo- 
quence, learning, ability and influence may well chal- 
lenge comparison with that of any nation, Ours is 
a land of free speech^ and no where is that freedom 
to be more prized, to be more valued and more 
fearlessly sustained than in the pulpit. He who would 
fetter a free press, or a free tongue, does violence to^ 
the fundamental principles of liberty ; but he who* 
muzzles the pulpit, does sacrilegious violence to lib- 
erty in her purest, holiest temple. God is Lord of 



12 

the conscience of His ministers m a peculiar man- 
ner. Called to His holy ministry, they may not fear 
man more than God. No men and no institutions 
of men have a right to prescribe to them what they 
may or may not preach. With the Word for their 
guide, with the wants of the perishing around them, 
as their incentive, they have a responsibihty above 
that which belongs to any man or any usages of so- 
ciety to over- awe or control. 

To instruct in Divine things, and in those high 
morals, inculcated in the Divine Word, is one delight- 
ful part of their sacred duty, and well do they per- 
form it. Look into the Churches of the land on the 
Sabbath. Listen to the hundreds of thousands of 
sermons there, on each returning sacred day deliv- 
ered. Consider the varied characters of the preach- 
ers and hearers. Look at the congregations of ev- 
ery sect, name and hue, of every condition in life, 
the educated and refined, the unenlightened, unedu- 
cated and ignorant, the pohshed and the rude. To 
each and all (if they be not perverse in heart and 
mind) is wisdom imparted and knowledge conveyed. 
As an element of sound instruction, no institution 
can compare with the pulpit. Blot out our Colleges 
and Schools, but leave us our free pulpits, and we 
will rebuild them all, endow them all, and fill them 
all in brief time. Break down our pulpits, and we 
merge into irrecoverable barbarism and heathenism. 
Our ministers most deservedly exercise a larger 



13 

share of influence and control than any (perhaps 
than all) other professions. It is matter of congrat- 
ulation that it is so, for as a class, they are cultiva- 
ted and refined gentlemen. Their vocation is one 
of love and mercy. Their characters, blameless 
and harmless, without rebuke. They are every 
where the champions of education, of good morals 
and good order. They stand foremost in every 
good enterprise, and in self-denial, and labors of love 
and charity, they leave all other classes far behind. 
This is a tame eulogium upon the American pulpit 
of this day, and the only purpose in view, on this oc- 
casion, is to speak, in plain terms, of this profession 
as it deserves. It needs no vmdication, but it may 
be permitted a layman to render this slight tribute 
of regard to a profession he deems the most impor- 
tant to all the vital interests of a beloved country 
and a sin-stricken world. 

But even in this free country and in this enlight- 
ened age, there is much mistake, misapprehension 
and ignorance in respect to the true freedom of the 
pulpit, and censures, unjust criticism as well as open 
opposition, are often resorted to, in order to curb its 
freedom or control its influence. The delig-htful du- 
ty of instruction has been adverted to, and while the 
ministry confines its public services to imparting wis- 
dom, no attempts are made to restrain it, if unac- 
companied by the no less imperious but much less 

pleasant dutv of rebuke. There are fashions, usa- 

2 



14 

ges and institutions which will not hear rehuke. 
They may have their foundations in pride, in avarice 
or in any other base passion ; they may degrade and 
debase, and even destroy. They iiiay be at variance 
with some of the plainest precepts of our holy re- 
hgion and subversive of the Saviour's Golden Rule ; 
but from their power and influence, and perhaps 
control, they must not be rebuked. These institu- 
tions may darken the hopes, destroy the happiness, 
and rest as a deadly incnhus upon millions, pervert- 
ing the right and sustaining the wrong, but minister- 
ing to the ease, and comfort and enjoyment of oth- 
ers, and promoting the interests of the few at the 
expense of the many. They may not be rebuked. 
It is the glory of our age that we have, for the most 
part, a free and fearless pulpit, and come evil, and 
sin and wrong, in what shape they may, their guises 
are torn off in naked deformity, they are held up to 
merited rebuke. 

Emerging from the pleasant associations and warm 
friendships of College life, many graduates will enter 
the Legal profession. It is already well filled, but 
for the hard student, the energetic and aspiring young 
man, there is ample room and abundant reward. The 
life of a successful lawyer is a hfe of constant study, 
of unremitting toil and labor. No men, in any walk of 
life, are (of necessity) harder workers. It is not ne- 
cessary to say that through the legal profession is laid 
the great highway to political preferment, and the 



15 

regard and estimation, in which the profession is held 
by the pubUc, is well evinced in the honorable sta- 
tions conferred upon the Bar. Their necessary train- 
ing, their duties, their connection with the public ad- 
ministration of justice, lead, of course, to tbis result 
An uneducated lawyer, is usually, a very contemptible 
man, and seldom, in this searching profession, do any 
rise above mediocrity, except when building upon the 
foundation of a good education. >S'eZ/^educated men 
are sometimes found adorning eminent positions in 
profession, but they are comparatively few. Educa- 
ted men, too, are often drones in the hive, without 
energy, life, character, business or influence. Suc- 
cess here must depend upon well directed and perse- 
vering effort and constant study. The mind must 
be fired by love of the profession, by determination 
to master all its intricacies and to be at its head. It 
is not absolutely necessary in this particular, that a 
man should be, in the usual acceptation of the term, 
a man of one idea^ but in devotedness to his profes- 
sion, the nearer he approaches that point, without 
imbibing its narrowness, the more certain is his suc- 
cess. 

The law, in all its branches of theory and practice, 
of law and equity must be his hobby, and no mental 
pursuits must be permitted to divert his attention 
from the one great object of mastering the law in all 
its branches. The successful lawyer is, of similar 
necessity, a student of all branches of useful know- 



16 

ledge, and unless well informed upon all ordinary and 
many abstruse subjects, he will often be found wanting 
in time of need. Of all the special subjects of re- 
search, none is more important than the Bible, and 
some of our ablest jurists have drawn from its lofty 
inspiration, its sublime thoughts and teachings and 
pure principles, those arguments which have render- 
ed their names immortal. A lawyer is not furnished 
for his work, without a critical knowledge of the 
principles of law and equity, revealed through the 
Great Lawgiver. It would be pleasant, did the oc- 
casion and time admit, to trace, in some detail, the 
cardinal principles of the common law as revealed 
in the Bible, as well, as to show how the .common 
law tribunals derive their origin from the courts, ori- 
ginally established among the ancient Israelites. 
This, however, is not now the object of this address. 
The legal profession is there distinctly recognized as 
an aid in the administration of justice. Under our 
system, the legitimate and proper sphere of the coun- 
sel and advocate is in aid and furtherance of the 
cause of right and justice, and right and justice 
could not be arrived at, nor equity and truth adminis- 
tered, but by the help of this office of counsel and 
advocate. 

There have sometimes been wrong apprehensions 
in reference to the part assigned to counsel in the ad- 
ministration of justice. It is admitted that at times, 
members of the profession may have given occasion 



17 

for the reproachful speaking of their high office. 
What walk in life, what profession or avocation is 
not afflicted by unworthy niembers ? But the calhng 
is to be judged by its object, its purposes and its de- 
signs. 

Courts of justice, for the suppression and punish- 
ment of crime, and courts for the setthng and sus- 
taining the rights of persons and property, are likely 
to be always required. At least in the present ad- 
vance of our civilization and Christianity, we see no 
prospect of being able to dispense with them. They 
stand around us, the safeguards of all our most in- 
valuable rights. The man who never enters them, no 
less than he who uses them for redressing his wrongs, 
is their constant debtor. While they are the ''terror 
to evil-doers,'^ no less are they ''the praise" or pro- 
tection "of them who do well." For their efficiency 
and power, they are and ever must be dependent up- 
on the legal profession. From no other source can 
the learning, and the skill be drawn, which are ne- 
cessary to furnish the Bench with efficient judges. 
Their success as judges, invariably depends upon 
their training at the Bar, and without the contest, 
the earnest, full and ardent contest of the Bar, the 
Judge would never acquire the proper skill to dis- 
cern, and power clearly to apprehend the intricate 
and complicated questions, presented for his solution. 

Under the system of Common Law as derived 
from our fathers, and built up elevated and refined, 



as well as enriched by some of the greatest minds 
which have ever existed, the office of the Advocate 
is hardly inferior to that of the Judge. That system 
has long existed. Its great object is the ascertain- 
ment and enforcement of right, truth and justice be- 
tween man and man. Its principles are those of 
eternal truth and right, and wherever these lead, it 
follows implicitly, turning neither to the right hand 
nor to the left. 

Fiat Jiistitia is its cardinal maxim. It allows no 
perversions. It tolerates no short-comings. Its aims 
are simple^ right ; to control and correct all that is 
wrong ; to give to all redress, and to afford to all 
protection. It recognizes no privilege of class or 
condition, but the humblest individual finds its broad 
cegis of protection spread over him, equally with his 
more exalted neighbor. 

With the burning inquiry ever sounding from its 
voice, what is truth^ what is right, what is just, amid 
all the fierce contentions, which the evil passions, 
malignity and perverseness of man has excited, it 
has devised a plan for answering those questions and 
arriving at this truth and right. In this world of sel- 
fishness and sin, of wrong, oppression and extortion, 
this is a mighty office. To perform a most impor- 
tant and essential part in this work, the office of 
Counsel and Advocate has been estabhshed ; and it 
is here repeated, that without the due exercise of 
this office, justice could not be safely admnnstered. 



19 

It is conceded that this admirable system of Judges 
and Advocates, from the weakness of the one, or the 
wickedness of the other, is hable to abuse. It is not an 
omniscient Judge, and is therefore falhble. It is not 
a perfect-man advocate, and is therefore liable to per- 
vert and mislead. But these are faults, not of the 
system, but of its administration ; mcident as well 
to the weakness as the wickedness of human nature. 
The question recurs. What is the best mode of 
ascertaining the truth in controverted and disputed 
cases? The wisdom of ages has answered. An 
able, learned and honest Bench, and a well disciplm 
ed, learned and faithful Bar. The Counsel owes his 
highest obhgation to the court. His oath is of equal 
fidelity to the court and the client, and he can no 
more divest himself of his obligations to the one 
than to the other. When his duty is faithfully per- 
formed to the one it is equally performed to the other. 
Duty to the court and to the cause of justice, equal- 
ly demands all fidelity to the client, and it is a mistake 
to suppose that the advocate (not wandering from 
the truth) can ever too earnestly press his client's 
cause upon the court. The wit and the wisdom of 
man, sanctioned by the wisdom from above, has de- 
vised this plan for ascertaining the truth. It arrays 
on each side of the disputed question, counsel and 
advocate, equally skilled, with equal facilities for in- 
vestigation of all the merits of the ease, and it re- 
quires of them to pour into the mind of the Judg% 



20 

all the arguments which can be raised, and all the 
reasons which can be urged for either side of the 
cause. Nothing short of full, searching, exhausting 
argument will suffice. Nothing short of earnest zeal 
can be accepted. Persuasive eloquence here finds 
its legitimate sphere. Between these, sits the learn- 
ed Judge. To aid him in arriving at the right, is all 
this ardent zeal, this fervid argument and impassioned 
eloquence, and by these means his mind,- quickened, 
elevated and enlightened, arrives at the truth. In 
this view of the obligation of an advocate, Lord 
Brougham spoke, when he said "That every power of 
mind, every effort of learning, and all the zeal pos- 
sessed by the advocate, belonged to the chent, and 
that the advocate was bound to use his utmost effort 
to advance the cause of the chent." No perversion 
of truth, no falsehood can be allowed. Indeed, they 
never serve the purpose of the chent. Detection 
usually follows, and that detection is accompanied 
by disaster. It has been deemed proper to introduce 
this view of the office and duty of the advocate, as 
well because of the fitting occasion, as because it is 
not so well understood and fully appreciated, and be- 
cause some men of ingenuous minds have been led 
to turn from the profession under the erroneous im- 
pression that their duties to their clients might lead 
them to espouse the cause of falsehood and wrong. 
I have ventured, too, upon this topic, because I ove 
my profession, and am wilhng to advocate its integ- 



21 

rity, its usefulness, nay, its absolute necessity. I am 
aware that the legal profession is, sometimes, said 
to be a tiecessary evilj and only to be sustained be- 
cause it is a necessary evil. It is such an evil as is 
government. It is rendered necessary as is medicine. 
The diseases of the body render the physician a 
necessary evil. The maladies of the body politic 
require the administration of executive and judicial 
government, and in the latter the lawyers, as has 
been shown, occupy a most important position. 

It is an error to suppose that those, who are 
quiet, law-abiding citizens, have no interest in the 
government. To that government, and especially 
to the legal tribunal, is the peaceable and order-lov- 
ing citizen indebted for the very security which 
gives him his peace, and secures his quiet enjoy- 
ment of all his rights and happiness. 

But not alone to the learned professions, are our 
Colleges sending their annual contributions. While 
the sacred ministry, with its honors, its high and 
holy and devoting aims, has and ought to have its 
hold upon the ardent. Christian mind ; while the le- 
gal profession has its allurements for the aspiring ; 
yet still to many the physical sciences have strong 
and mastering attractions. It would be pleasant, 
did time admit, to consider some of these avoca- 
tions in detail, and to discuss their merits and 
claims, but any lengthened views of them is preclu- 
ded. 

3 



22 

This nineteenth century, thus far, has been one 
of wonderful progress in physical science. The 
cultivated minds, devoted to the application of na- 
ture's two great forces, electricity and steam, have 
outstripped the speed of the sun, and levelled the 
mountains, and are introducing to our neighborly 
brotherhood the nations of the earth. Old and 
barbarous systems of government, under their influ- 
ence, are passing away, but their death throes have 
convulsed and are now convulsing the nations. The 
effete systems of the past will never yield to the 
enlightening physical and moral influences of this 
century, without mighty convulsions. The steam- 
boat, the rail-road, and especially the Electric- Tele- 
graph, are mighty instruments of civihzation, and 
mighty means of enlightment to the nations, and 
they will, accompanied as they ever have been, by 
great moral influences, eventually work the over- 
throw of the false systems of religion and govern- 
ment, now holding in abject submission the millions 
of earth. 

Strong are the attractions, and important the 
field here opened for the aspiring youth. The 
pecuniary reward is certain. All these professions 
and engagements have their claims, but they are 
all accompanied, to a greater or less extent, by 
the mental excitements, conflicts and toils which 
are not always pleasant. We turn from them 
to only one other vocation, which will also re- 



23 

ceive accessions from the young men, now gradua- 
ting. 

The cultivation of the soil will have its educated 
votaries, and happy is the young man who is privi- 
leged to devote himself to agricultural pursuits ! 
"When our first parents were without sin, they were 
placed amid the fruits of earth, and dwelt among 
its never-fading flowers. Gorgeous must have been 
the beauty of Eden, when "every tree pleasant to 
the sight," was there, rich ; indeed, when "every tree 
good for food," brought forth its spontaneous wealth, 
and placed it at the feet of its master, man. Now 
by toil and labor, are these sweets and these riches 
to be obtained from our mother earth. Yet, how 
grand that avocation, which tends, by its labors and 
toils, to bringing back this earth to its primeval 
state, and if until "the fullness of times be come," 
it cannot be entirely restored to its original fertility 
and glory, yet can make some approaches to that 
object, can remove the thorn and the thistle, can 
cause the beautiful flower to bless the sight as it 
did in Eden, and partially remove the physical curse, 
and amid all that is withering and blighting in the 
moral world, looks to the Great Advocate and In- 
tercessor for introducing the new heavens and the 
new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. 

It needs not argument, or illustration, to prove 
that the life of the agriculturist, (all things consid- 
ered) is the happiest state of man •, that it is most 



24 

honorable, all admit. That it has attractions, oay, 
fascinations of a high character, is in proof, by the 
votaries it draws from all other professions. It has 
its matter of fact and every-day routine and detail of 
labor, that looked at superficially, seem far from en- 
chanting, but what profession or avocation has not 
similar drudgery. It has trials and troubles ! What 
position on earth is free from them ? But to the culti- 
vated mind there is ample field for improvement and 
expansion, and for high enterprise and skill. The 
earnest devotion to husbandry in all its branches, 
carries with it its constant reward, and truly blessed 
is that man who can lay aside the turmoil and vexa- 
tion of business, or the mental fatigues and perplex- 
ities of professional life, and fill up his days in the 
peace, quiet and usefulness of a well conducted 
farm ! It is matter of regret, that educated men 
have so frequently considered agriculture as an in- 
ferior pursuit, and especially that young men, leav- 
ing the halls of learning, have so often regarded it 
as an inferior, if not a degrading pursuit. It is, how- 
ever, gratifying to know that such views are passing 
away, and that this most important vocation is en- 
grossing some of the best informed minds of the 
age. If a calling may claim to be honorable, as it 
is important to all the interests of this world, this 
surely may claim to be most honorable. Every one 
of the thousand millions of earth's teeming popula- 
tion, is daily dependent upon the production of 



25 

earth for daily subsistence. This supply, not now 
falling in rich profusion from ever-bearing fruit trees, 
as in Eden, is to be produced by man's constant 
care. What dependencies upon effort! What stim- 
ulus to labor 1 How highly to be prized is that pur- 
suit which gives to all, day by day, their daily bread, 
as the almoners of heaven's mercies to the needy 
and starving ! 

But no matter what the profession which the 
young man, now entering upon the business of life, 
may be called to select, each has its attractions, 
and each its pecuUar claims, and as to all, a few 
general remarks may be made. There is a sure 
road to eminence, in all of them. It is not trodden 
by the indolent or dissipated. The young man, who 
expects to attain that eminence in any walk of pro- 
fessional hfe, must part company with enervating 
pleasures and pursuits, and gird himself with strong 
and stern resolves to maintain person and repute 
unsuUied. There is no paved way for genius, even 
to high and honorable positions. The toils may not 
be bitter, but they must be constant and unremitting. 
The reward is sure. What has been said of the 
legal profession is true of all. The object and aim 
of all preparation and discipline is to fire the mind, 
control the will, bind all other things to its purpose, 
subdue all opposition, break down or remove every 
impediment. No hindrance is to be considered as 
insuperable. With inflexible will and untiring in- 



^6 

dustry, is the pursuit to be followed. With these, 
everything is accomplished. 

But let the young man listen to the Siren's song 
of pleasure, visit her enchanted grounds and yield 
to her blandishments, and manhood is subdued and 
Jife a blank ! 



'^ U: 



,n,!?Ii;i\^Y OF CONGRESS 



029 892 265 4 



